Packaging design in the marketing mix, perspectives of advertising agency managers

Abstract

The study examines the perspectives of advertising agency managers about packaging design i n t he marketing mix. P ackaging de sign i s a n i mportant c omponent of t he marketing m ix w ith p otential to contribute significantly to th e m arketing p rocess. Using the q ualitative r esearch approach, i n-depth i nterviews w ere c onducted on purposively s ampled a dvertising a gency m anagers i n G hana e specially i nvolved in creative work, and the result was subjected to thematic analysis. It was found out that packaging design contributes to the marketing process as part of product branding; it also e nhances ‘ sellability’, a nd communicates pe rtinent p roduct information a bout product to its target. The main factors considered in packaging design are the target market f or the pr oduct, a nd ne ed t o e nsure or iginality a nd i nnovation. F rom t he perspective of cr eative advertising agency m anagers, the b rand o wners m ake t he major packaging design decisions, hence, receiving a good brief from brand owners is a prerequisite for effective packaging. Meanwhile, effective packaging design must be informative a nd i nstructive. T he study c oncludes t hat packaging design is a n indispensable promotional activity in the marketing mix with strategic and functional roles. H owever, cr eating ef fective p ackaging d esign r equires a cl ose co llaboration between brand owners and their agencies.